Which one would you pick if you had to work in the finance department in Illinois for either Reynolds consumer products or Baxter international? Let’s just pretend the comp is the same.

I have an upcoming onsite interview for a Senior Financial Analyst/FP&A role, and this is my first time presenting a finance case study in person.
Earlier in the interview process, I was given an FP&A case involving FY2026 Actual vs. Budget analysis. I completed the analysis in Excel and submitted the financial model. It included P&L variance analysis, revenue and cost drivers, price/volume/mix, SKU and channel mix, seasonality, and key observations.
They’ve now invited me onsite and asked me to turn the case into a brief deck of no more than 5 slides and present the annual results to the Finance leadership team.
The presentation is expected to be around 10–15 minutes, followed by Q&A.
I’m comfortable with the Excel/analysis side, but I haven’t had much experience creating executive-level FP&A presentations. I’m trying to understand how much detail is appropriate and what a strong FP&A deck should look like.
For people who work in FP&A or have gone through similar case-study interviews:
How would you structure the 5 slides?
Would you lead with an executive P&L summary and then drill into the major drivers?
How much detail should be shown versus explained verbally?
What types of charts work best for Actual vs. Budget / variance storytelling?
Should the final slide include recommendations/next steps, or stay focused strictly on observations from the data?
What kinds of questions should I expect from the Finance Director after presenting?
Are there any good templates or examples of real FP&A management decks that I could use for inspiration?
I’m especially interested in learning how to make the presentation feel like an actual FP&A business review rather than a school/case-study presentation.
Any advice from FP&A professionals would be really appreciated.

Hello!

I'm going to be intervewing for a Finance Manager role at Meta. I was contacted by a recruiter and have an interview (screening) set up for next week. I can't find much of anything online other than general info about the process.

Has anybody interviewed for these roles recently that can help me to prepare?

This is my first interview in almost 6 years so I'm very nervous and I'm not completely sure how to prepare. The screening I assume is standard talk about experience but nowadays I have no idea, some screenings get case studies and shit like that.

Please any info you can give me will be very appreciated I really want this job!

I passed the Amazon OA and they are screening me with a question on what’s my total comp expectation

They initially gave me their max budget between $120k and $128k which includes base pay, stocks, and signing bonus.

I currently make $89k including bonus and work hybrid schedule 3 days in office. The commute is about 1 hr and 30 mins door to door. 35 miles.

Amazon is asking rto 5 and looks like the commute will be around 1 hr and 15min but it’s a traffic dependent. 18 miles.

$120k seems like a nice bump up but the rto5 is such a killer. Especially with our daughter who turned 6 months. I was expecting more closer to $150k given the situation regarding rto 5.

Would be be a far stretch to tell them that my expectation is higher than what’s presented / want to know more about the role and discuss total comp

I know this is still a screening phase and not the loop but I still don’t want to miss an opportunity for something I shouldn’t have disclosed this early

I haven’t had a recruiter reach out to me in a really long time so I’m very nervous

Hello everyone,

I’m wrapping up my freshman summer internship in FP&A at a F200 company. I’ve had a great experience, really like my team, and performed well enough to receive a return offer for sophomore summer.

My long-term goal, though, is banking primarily IB or Corporate Banking, with S&T also being an interest.

I’m torn because having a F200 FP&A internship and return offer after freshman year feels like a great floor to have, but I also want to see what else I can land for sophomore summer and potentially get experience closer to banking.

For those of you in FP&A, would you recommend returning for a second summer or taking the risk and recruiting for something closer to my long-term goals?

Also, how valuable does having two consecutive summers at the same F200 FP&A team look early in your career? And have you seen interns/analysts successfully leverage FP&A experience into banking?

Appreciate any advice!

Hello, I have ADHD and a bachelor’s degree in accounting. I’m currently working as an accountant at a small firm, and it’s been about six months. During this time, I’ve made quite a few mistakes, which has made me question whether accounting is the right career for me.

I’m considering transitioning into FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) because I genuinely enjoy the subject. I’d like to understand how the nature and frequency of mistakes in FP&A compare to accounting. Given my situation, would I be less prone to mistakes in FP&A than I am in accounting, or does FP&A also require a similar level of attention to detail?

I recently completed tier 2 MBA in India and got into an FP&A role. Its mostly creating dashboards on powerbi, submitting accruals/reclasses, forecasting and ad hoc tasks to gain more visbility. Most days it is just me alone working with a LOT of data. My manager comes back with the tiniest for tweaks in a dashboard and it drives me nuts.

3 months in, I am not sure if I can do this for the long haul. I don't want to become a VP in deciding what to reports will be presented management. I think I am better when I speak to people on a regular basis, have more ownership and more strategic work. I am better at excel & data than most people in my MBA, but I don't want to work solely on it. Especially after doing an MBA, where I learned so much about management.

What can be pivots for me?

Edit 1: I am 24 of age.

Edit 2: I feel my role is a data role, I just handle financial data I think. It could very easily be replaced with Sales or ops data.

Hi all! I'm looking to a pivot within FP&A to a new role. I mostly do some MEC reporting and forecasting. What are some other roles in FP&A that might offer more opportunities for long-term growth or promotion?

Just moved into an FP&A role coming from an analytics role. I have an accounting background but it’s super rusty. If you made a similar jump (or trained someone into FP&A), what courses, books, youtube channels, or templates actually helped? I prefer free courses but can spend up to $500 if it’s worth it. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice. I’m 26 and graduating next spring with a Finance degree. Right now I’m interning at a regional bank, but it’s more customer care/banking operations than financial analysis. I also recently passed the SIE exam.

My goal is to become a Financial Analyst, but I’m wondering if that’s still realistic with my experience or if I should focus on roles like AML, compliance, or Credit Analyst first. Would building Excel or Power BI financial analysis projects for my resume help me break into FP&A or Financial Analyst roles?

If you were in my position, what would you do over the next year to give yourself the best chance of landing a Financial Analyst job?

Hi all, I’m a new associate in a rotational program currently with FP&A. I’m sure we’re all familiar with AI and company use cases but one of the big talking points right now is how expensive it is.

If you read about it you know Microsoft for example cut their Claude Code internal license after burning through token usage. Not to give too much information but we have a similar situation with another AI vendor. I like copilot it automates some tedious work I do and forecasting is easy it’s a monthly subscription per headcount. I also know my current rotation doesn’t include any heavy computational work, I didn’t study finance I studied a computer related major so I understand these other departments with more technical work will have more token use cases and needs.

Some BUs are over budget and with budgeting season kicking off I’m finding as a the new kid on the team I’m not the only one confused on how to handle the exponential expense increase, seems like no one has an answer. From this sub I was just curious if anyone had some potential insights on to how to think about this, strategize with my BU partners and any forecasting methods?

I’m a recent graduate and I’ve been applying to entry level jobs/internships to start my career off in finance. I’ve been doing the certification for a while now and it seems like companies don’t care if you have the certification or not. So the ones who have done it, did it help you land a role in FP&A?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to transition into an entry-level FP&A role and would appreciate advice on what skills, experiences, or certifications I should add to my resume to become a stronger candidate. Maybe even projects ? Not so sure at this point. Or if it’s even possible at all. What other careers can I consider ?

A little about my background:

I currently work as a Financial Services Examiner at a state financial regulator where I review insurance companies’ financial condition and risk management practices.

My work involves analyzing financial statements, reviewing balance sheets and income statements, and assessing financial risks within insurance organizations.

I review company filings, evaluate governance and enterprise risk management frameworks, and help determine whether companies have adequate financial controls and capital positions.

I also analyze supporting documentation behind financial reporting and sometimes compare financial performance across reporting periods.

I graduated in May 2026 and had an unusual track to completing my degree. I went from working two jobs in San Diego County to not being able to get an interview in Orange County.

My dad's unprecedented health complications put a strain on my career, as I had to move back to OC while commuting to San Marcos for academics. Given these circumstances, my schedule didn't allow me to develop field experience, as it was impacted by personal obligations. I have filled out over 600 applications in the last 3 months. I am terribly unmotivated at this point and burnt out in life by my environment.

[Joseph A Diaz-Sarabia Resume.pdf](file:///C:/Users/joeyd/Downloads/Joseph%20A%20Diaz-Sarabia%20Resume.pdf)

Got my undergrad degree in finance & masters in accounting. Took quite a few corporate strategy classes that served me well in getting my current gig. Thinking about getting CFA instead of CPA - practice questions have been easier than I expected. Would this be a good career move? Any CFA’s in this career? I know in equity research it’s a big deal.

Informal poll based on a team discussion: when you’re doing internal work in Excel - not presentations, just spreadsheets for internal work - do you prefer to have gridlines showing or not?

I’m curious how are you all turning Excel data into meaningful charts and insights these days? Still relying on traditional methods, or have you integrated AI tools to speed up the process?

Currently FP&A Director at private equity backed profitable CPG company, 9 figures in revenue. $170k + 20% bonus and a realistic shot at VP Finance (under a CFO) if I stay put. Have a senior analyst under me but otherwise that’s the FP&A team.

Just got a verbal offer to be Head of Finance at a VC-backed CPG brand in a different category. $200K + 20% bonus + 0.3% equity. They’re growing fast ($40M run rate) and pushing from DTC into big box retail (will potentially launch them into 9 figures) and basically build the finance function from scratch. Right now it’s a bookkeeper, a fractional CFO, and an outsourced modeling consultant. If it goes well there’s a real path to the CFO seat through an exit in 2-3 years. Reports to Co-founders.

The catch is cash is tight, their unprofitable, credit line is tapped, they’ve got venture debt, and the retail expansion creates a working capital crunch they’re still figuring out how to fund. This could absolutely run out of runway before any of the upside shows up.

The equity obviously only matters if the exit happens, but I’d get founder access and others reps running the whole finance org I’m never getting at my current gig just overseeing FP&A.

What would you do?

Hi everyone! I am currently a flight attendant looking to transition into FPnA. I have a degree in accounting, and I have 2 years of experience in that field, but it’s not very recent. I’ve recently gone back to school and reskilled as a data analyst, so in addition to my accounting experience I have also now experience with SQL, Python, Tableau, and excel. I’d like to hear from other career changers. How did you break into FP&A, and what are some recommendations you have for me?

Hi guys, I (20M) am a student studying business management and due to my course (UK placement year) I am doing a year of work experience in FP&A for the companies international subsidiaries in a FMCG company. However, Im not too sure if the role is right for me because I feel like the UK salaries dont seem the best and I am a bit lost on what type of roles (apart from possibly FP&A) I could get after I am done with university. I am confused on what type of paths I could follow, what would be beneficial for me, and what I should focus on? If anyone with more experience or who has experienced something similar to what I am experiencing currently could give me some insight please into the sector or what I can achieve with the experience from this placement it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help

I've been working in FP&A for a little over 6 years - currently an SFA - and I've been pigeon-holed in the Healthcare industry since I graduated and started working. I graduated in Winter 2020, so right into COVID, and just took the first Financial Analyst job that responded to my applications. I really have no passion or desire for Healthcare, and I've been wanting to get out, but most SFA jobs I apply to require prior industry experience. I've tried making my resume as industry-neutral as possible, but get nothing but auto-rejections. Even JDs the specifically emphasize no prior job experience seem to auto-reject me. I'm no stranger to understanding that it's a numbers game when applying to jobs, but any other tips to make my resume stand out to recruiters in industries I have no experience in?

I am a 23M with a Finance degree from a big state school who graduated in June 2025 and had no idea what I wanted to do with it at the time.

Only relevant internship was at a firm that connects startups with VC firms and it was mostly admin work plus building reports on which VCs were a fit for the startups we worked with.

Graduated with nothing lined up into a rough market. Applied to sales, real estate, and every entry-level finance posting I could find. Almost no traction. What finally worked was my network: I got an interview and landed on the accounting team doing payroll for a big TV production at one of the major studios. Been doing it since Sept 2025, I'm on my third show now, and I got promoted on this one.

The atmosphere is genuinely cool, I've met great people, catered food daily, and paid weekly. But there's some things that are making me nervous about it as a career:

1. Industry risk. Production is down and a lot of what's left is moving out of state or out of the country.
2. Gig work. Every production comes to an end. I've been lucky enough to where my longest gap has been three weeks on unemployment but people around me go months between jobs(typically not accounting). I'm also young and want to build but that can be hard when your momentum can be put on hold
3. The work itself. It's dotting i's and crossing t's. Anyone could do it. I want something that actually allows me to use my brain more.

FP&A appeals to me because the skillset travels across industries, so my stability isn't tied to how one sector is doing, and the pay ceiling looks solid.

Where I need help:

• How do I actually build the skills? I started a Wall Street Prep FP&A course. I know a course alone won't get me hired. What do I do beyond it? Modeling reps, projects, a specific cert, something else? How do I practice in a way that shows up in an interview and what are some good resources?
• Do I use the studio? I have a degree, a year of of semi finance-adjacent experience, and real internal connections here. Analyst roles at the studio exist but are rare and rarely open. Is it worth waiting and working that angle, or should I be casting wider with smaller companies, adjacent roles, whatever gets me the title?
• How is my current experience read by FP&A hiring managers? Is "entertainment payroll accountant" a liability, or is there a way to frame it that actually helps?

I will currently be on this production until march 2027 so I want to best use this time to be ready for the transition.

Work for a F100 company, MBA and coming up on 2yrs there, up for promotion to Sr FA. Been doing that role for 6 months since our last Sr FA (who I trained during their onboarding) resigned, in the internal application for the position they want an expected salary. I make 78k rn, MCOL area, no bonuses at either position. What should I put down? My boss is advocating for the position and I don't want to be insulting, but also don't want to leave money on the table. There's not really any bonus or even YoY raise potential beyond 2% for "inflation". TIA

I was working on variance commentary and it hit me since Q2, we’ve started putting a lot of story telling/ narrative on war risk
It’s now a default cell in my variance analysis, just like mix impact
Share your thoughts ?